Remote work has become more of a necessity today than a trend, becoming more and more relevant when outsourcing the IT operation. Especially when it comes to finding highly trained talent and, above all, adapting to the company’s budget.
The main concern of some executives when subcontracting is not being able to control the group or mistakenly think that a good job, done responsibly, can only be carried out within their office or in the same State / Country.
Both models, both in situ and remotely, can work quite well efficiently and productively, provided you have the right tools and mentality.
Next, we will give you 6 valuable tips so you can manage your work team with greater confidence and assertiveness.
Take into account a culturally aligned partner who dominates the language and is in the same time zone:
Although the main objective of outsourcing a remote team is to reduce costs, it is necessary to take into account cultural affinity and language has a very important value, as they will ensure that the team can adapt quickly to the corporate culture of the company.
We invite you to read our article “How we find the best IT talent for your project“, where we talk in more details about our hiring process.
Working with partners in the same time zone allows them to be in sync and work remotely without any problems. Considering these three points (culture, time zone, language) will avoid possible delays, misunderstandings or clashes between team members.
We currently have a highly diverse and multidisciplinary work team, potentially increasing our adaptability, regardless of the origin or location of our clients.
Offer a complete scope of the project to increase the fidelity of the technology partner:
To ensure that the entire team follows the planned work schedule and that they are familiar with the project, three determining actions must be carried out:
- Provide constant training on work processes and methodology, both of the company and the industry.
- Loyalty with the new technology partner through programs of rapprochement and mutual knowledge.
- Maintain constant feedback in order to create better working relationships.
It is vital to allow ideas from both sides to flow on how to optimize team performance, improving work progress and making timely corrections, if necessary.
An important element that has helped keep our customer satisfaction index high is to offer wide visibility, allowing our clients to have real-time measurements of work, as well as performance indicators and team management.
Establish a dynamic and organized workflow:
To achieve this order, the first thing that must be clear is the nature of the project. This will determine the methodology to be used and allow us to understand how to allocate resources effectively. Either the agile methodology Kanban for the realization of a support or maintenance of a Mobile Application, for example, or the Scrum methodology for a Custom Software Development.
It’s also necessary to determine which technology stack to use, based on current and future business needs. Daily monitoring and weekly meetings through different platforms are necessary to make the process even more efficient.
Among the tools we use to manage our Nearshore Development Team and visualize tasks and projects are Jira, Confluence, MS Teams, Sharepoint and Power BI.
Take the time to meet the Nearshore Team Leader (and the team as well):
Developing a relationship of mutual trust where all work patterns have been established and expectations are quite clear will be decisive for the results that the remote team can provide, guided by their leader.
The leader’s profile should be a solid combination between knowledge of the technical field and the ability to understand the business. Besides, it is important to evaluate the skills available to the remote team and weigh in what way the leader’s integration adds value to the project.
The leader must demonstrate the skills necessary to manage the project. Some of the skills that should be expected are:
- Excellent understanding of the objectives and vision of the project.
- Fluid communication with the Nearshore team.
- Perfect mastery of the times.
To develop this relationship of trust and transparency, our Service Manager visits the client monthly to review the team’s performance, new requirements, and future projects. The Service Manager and the Technical Leader of the team are the main contacts to manage customer expectations.
Maintain a balance between continuous review and micromanagement
It is a fact that remote teams operate better if they have freedom and confidence, which usually creates a good working environment between them, in addition to the scope of the objectives in the medium term.
The balance between the review and the micromanagement must be given to the extent that it is known what is being done at the right time, but without limiting the decision-making power, so that they cannot write a line of code without first requesting Excuse me.
Communicating the delivery deadlines to the team clearly and keeping up with the progress will allow the team to develop new dynamics to meet them, giving space for a more fluid work pace, increasing overall productivity.
A great strategy that has worked for us is to use the daily meetings and sprint planning as an opportunity to review the work in progress. Learn more about our working methodologies in our article: Which Agile Methodology is the best for my project?
Communication, openness and transparency are the key to achieving the objectives at each stage:
In many cases, the internal technology teams of companies tend to see the threat of outsourcing of Software Development, so it is very important to determine with them the scope that the remote equipment will have, as well as the clear assignment of tasks , which will create close and trustworthy ties.
To achieve this, it is recommended that the CTO / CIO of the company have constant meetings with the partner to hire, so that both can establish clear lines of work, where you define what tasks will depend on the internal team and which will depend on the external team.
Summary
Transparency, monitoring and good communication, three key elements that will allow every remote project to be successful. Accompanying them with high quality standards and careful monitoring of good Software Development practices, we ensure that our clients have total satisfaction and fulfillment of their business objectives, benefiting the end customer.
If you have any questions or want to know our service processes better, we invite you to contact us to know more about our services.